WA unfairly targeted by Minerals Resource Rent Tax, Craigie

Author: Lynne Craigie
Published on: 06-July-2010

The Nationals WA candidate for Durack, Lynne Craigie said the Federal Government’s new Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) unfairly targets WA.

Ms Craigie said the tax – which now only targets coal and iron-ore – would be detrimental to WA’s economy.

“Through our rich resources industry, WA contributes significantly more to the nation’s economy than any other state. Now with the MRRT we will be expected to contribute even more from our State’s resources,” Ms Craigie said.

“WA holds most of Australia’s iron-ore. By targeting iron-ore, the Federal government is essentially placing a target on WA.

“As always, we are expected to contribute more than our fair share, with no guarantee of anything in return. Instead, money that should be coming back into WA will be spent propping up projects over east,” Ms Craigie said.

Ms Craigie said she was disappointed to see smaller resources companies excluded from deals to negotiate this new tax.

“It’s alright for the big mining companies that have diverse projects across the world. What about the hundreds of smaller mining companies who are still under threat because of this tax?”

Ms Craigie said some serious questions still needed to be answered regarding the MRRT - such as the estimated Federal Budget fallout, the issue of State sovereignty over minerals, and a lack of exploration incentives.

“Despite reducing the tax from 40 per cent to 30 per cent, and removing most of the minerals from the list, we are expected to believe it will only cause a $1.5 billion drop in the Federal Budget?

“We need to understand where the Federal Government is pulling these figures from.”

“The Federal Government has no legal right to State owned resources. It’s also a major issue that incentives for exploration have been scrapped during negotiations.

“If the Federal Government believes that by silencing the major mining companies they have miraculously fixed this problem, then they are mistaken.

“The Nationals are committed to representing regional WA and will work hard to Reverse the Rip-Off and give WA its fair share.”